Making the case for the right to life of every innocent, from Lake County, Illinois

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Assisted Suicide

Nanos poll: doctors should be able to opt-out
of offering assisted dying, majority oppose assisted dying for minors
and for psychiatric reasons

Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention CoalitionIn
the past few weeks, three professionals polls have been done on
Canadian views on euthanasia and assisted suicide, referred to as
“assisted dying.”The recent Nanos poll of 1,000 Canadians that was done March 31 – April 4, 2016 was commissioned by the Globe and Mail [newspaper]. The Nanos media release stated that the poll found:

• Canadians believe doctors should be
able to opt-out of offering assisted dying – majority oppose or somewhat
oppose assisted dying for minors

• The majority of Canadians think that
doctors should be able to opt-out of providing access to assisted dying
against the will of their patients. Most Canadians do not think people
under the age of 16 and 17 years should be able to access assisted dying
and a marginal majority think that those with mental illness or
psychiatric conditions should have access.

• Ability of doctors to opt-out –
Three-fourths (75%) of Canadians believe doctors should be able to
opt-out of offering assisted dying against the will of their patients
(50% agree; 25% somewhat agree). Twenty-one percent say they would
disagree or somewhat disagree with the same thing (11% disagree; 10%
somewhat disagree). Four percent of Canadians are unsure.

• Assisted dying and minors – Six in ten
Canadians (60%) say that they would disagree or somewhat disagree (16%
somewhat disagree; 43% disagree), that minors who are 16 and 17 years of
age should be able to access assisted dying, while thirty-seven percent
of Canadians either agree (13%) or somewhat agree (24%). Five percent
are unsure.

• Assisted dying and mental illness –
Half of Canadians (52%) would either somewhat disagree (18%) with
letting people with mental illness or psychiatric conditions access
assisted dying, or disagree (34%). Just over two fifths (42%) of
Canadians think that people who are suffering from with mental illness
or psychiatric conditions should be able to access assisted dying (22%
agree; 20% somewhat agree), while six percent of Canadians are unsure.

• 62% supported religiously affiliated nursing homes from having to participate in euthanasia.

• 36% supported forcing medical
professionals who oppose euthanasia to refer their patients to a doctor
who will kill their patient.

• 88% supported a waiting period, similar to the Oregon law.

Both polls are done by recognized professional political pollsters
and both polls indicate that Canadians want clear restrictions, controls
and guidelines on “assisted death” (euthanasia and assisted suicide).
[1]

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition recognizes that laws permitting a
doctor to kill a patient by “assisted death” will be misused. Assisted
deaths will occur without request, without being reported and outside of
the rules of the law, which is occurring in Belgium. Euthanasia and
assisted suicide are not in the interest of patient safety.
[1]The third poll, The LifeCanada poll, was conducted by Public
Square of 950 people March 7- 14, 2016. It found that 50% of Canadians
wanted strict limits on euthanasia and only 16% would allow euthanasia
for psychiatric reasons.